


The Thralls

by Spirits_Among_Stars



Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Al Mualim is only mentioned, But here is soms Ass Creed because WE HAVE VALHALLA BOYS AND GIRLS AND NB FOLKS, So THROWBACK its been a while since Ive posted anything
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-04-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:46:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23933278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spirits_Among_Stars/pseuds/Spirits_Among_Stars
Summary: While Altair deals with Al Mualim and the apple, Malik and his Assassins deal with the thralls in the village. They find a friend and they try to keep people safe.
Kudos: 5





	The Thralls

"Safety and peace, my friend," Altaïr said.

"Your presence here will deliver us both," Malik uttered.

He and his men then headed down towards the village to distract the thralls from reaching Altaïr and Al Mualim. Cautiously walking down the hill, they were engaged by another group of Assassins shouting about their Master and killing all those who didn't walk the path- whatever that was. They quickly dealt with them and continued down the hill. Whatever it was that caused this, whatever made their brothers and the villagers into mindless speakers was something that should never be messed with and kept hidden forever. _Dangerous_ did not convey how bad this thing was and there was no way that whatever this was belonged to this world. It was impossible! They encountered another group of Assassins trying to head to the fortress, they swiftly felled them and carried on.

Malik stopped in his tracks as a wave of dread flooded through him, though he had no idea what warranted it. He gazed around at the once thriving village. Nothing was moving. The trees, the animals, the air, _nothing_. He's never seen Masyaf look so empty before. It was always full of busy Assassins and civilians going about their business day in, day out and now their minds were not their own. They belonged to Al Mualim, _the traitor._

"Malik," whispered Fadil, "I see someone."

"Friend or foe?" he asked turning in the direction the Assassin was looking. A village house with a smudged bloody hand print on the furthest corner was the target.

"I do not know."

"Remain quiet and suspect ill intentions," Malik cautioned, tightening his grip on his sword.

The others did the same and they cautiously wandered toward the building where Fadil saw them. They could be an Assassin or an innocent villager caught in something they never should have been in. The air was tense as they neared the corner and Malik heard a pained grunt from behind it, but that didn't distract him from the possibility it was a ruse. He signaled to Anas, Dirar and Saad to flank behind the building. He and Fadil stepped around the corner.

It was Nadira. The wife of Rauf the combat instructor. Blood from her abdomen coated her hands and seeped into her grey dress under the makeshift bandage, consisting of her red cloth belt and the ripped material of her dress. What did he get herself into? What on earth happened here? Before he could speak, she did first, wielding a small kitchen knife and blind to the fact that it was him. In her eyes, he had lost his mind too. "Don't you _dare_ come any closer, Malik," she warned, shaking the knife defensively.

He holstered his weapon to show that he was himself and he gestured at Fadil to do the same. "Nadira, I have my own mind. I have not succumbed to the fate of our brothers and the villagers." For a moment, she studied the Dai and the Assassin but just as she was lowering her knife, Anas, Dirar and Saad rounded the corner, swords ready. Her knife was up in an instant and she pivoted to face the trio. " _Stop_!" Malik said loudly, "Nadira, there's no need to worry. All of _us_ our ourselves. Put down the knife." He looked at the three Assassins, "You as well."

Trusting Malik, the four of them lowered the weapons but kept them out just incase. She let out a sigh and turned back to Malik with a relived smile in her lips. "I thought you were one of them. I apologise."

"There is no need," Malik said, watching her lean against the wall for support. "We all need to be on our guard." She looked like she was in a lot of pain and the blood looked fairly recent too. "What happened?"

"When I returned here, everyone was slowly losing their minds so I went to Al Mualim for answers. As we spoke he used the... that artefact from Solomon's Temple on me but he grew annoyed when it had no effect and summoned... Rauf and Husam to restrain me. He made Rauf take a dagger and stab me with it, casting me out of the fortress to die and declaring that I no longer had a place here and that, as a woman, my mind should've been easy to control." She pressed harder on her wound. She inhaled deeply. "Upon discovering I had failed to die, Al Mualim them sent Husam after me to finish the job."

"Did you kill him?" Anas asked, eyeing the knife. Malik rolled his eyes, of course she wouldn't kill her own brother.

"No, I did not," she replied curtly. "He is unconscious in this building. My brother's mind is not his own nor were his actions, there is no reason to kill him or anyone."

"That is what we aim to do," Malik said, surveying his surroundings to be sure they were safe. "We must keep them busy while Altaïr deals with Al Mualim." Nadira nodded agreeingly. "Where are your children?"

"They are at home. I do not know if their mind have been changed since my trip to the Fortress. I was heading there before Husam found me," her voice wavered slightly. "I need to see my children and see to my wound but there are Assassins in my way, and I cannot fend them all off myself."

"We shall escort you to your home." The four Assassins gave him frowns. He swiftly turned to them wearing a scowl, "Do you wish her to die or her children?"

"No," they said, shaking their heads.

"But are we not supposed to keep the thralls busy?" asked Dirar.

"We are but we can get her help too." He looked back at Nadira and his eyes lingered on her bloody wound. He did not like that his friend was hurt. "Are you well enough to walk?"

She nodded with an affirmative smile but Malik knew better. It was written in her eyes that she was in immense pain and was withholding it to prove to the others that she wasn't a weak woman. She definitely wasn't weak. "I am, but we must hurry."

Malik signalled to his men to be on the defensive and they started walking down the hill towards her home. They walked guardedly through the empty village that threatened to have an ambush lying in wait at every step and in every shadow. He glanced at her. She was in so much pain, but her concern was with the bewitched Assassins that could easily kill her or her children given the chance. She wouldn't let that happen for as long as she lived; she could fight well and use her skill whenever necessary. Nadira would do anything to protect her children. Hunched shoulders and lifted eyebrows failed to hide that she was scared. He couldn't blame her, he was scared too. This whole situation was completely strange to him, never has he experienced this. Mind control was something he never wanted to see again. It turned the most honorable men into abiding savages. Turned her brother into an unfeeling monster who would never normally harm her, and Rauf, who would stop at nothing to keep his wife safe but was made to stab her.

A group of Assassins charged the six of them and the defensive and offensive sides clashed. One wanted to kill and the other wanted to knock them out. Malik blocked a heavy blow from a sword and used the pommel of his to knock out the perpetrator. The other five did the same and quickly dispatched the Assassins with non lethal hits. Malik heard Nadira yelp in surprise and turned on his toes to see her kick the last Assassin in the stomach and punch him hard across the face. Once he dropped to the ground, she let out a deep breath.

"Can you still move?" Malik asked. Despite her severe lack of training, it was a well dealt punch. Maybe all those times spent watching them train and being married to the combat instructor paid off.

She nodded at him and stretched with a wince, "Yes. We need to keep moving," and with that they set off again for her home, staying quiet and attentive of their surroundings.

As their neared her home, Malik told Anas, Fadil, Dirar and Saad to search the area for Assassins while he and Nadira went to check inside the house for the children. The four peeled off and the pair slowly approached the front door to the small mud brick cottage. Nadira put her knife in the small pocket in her dress and pushed open the door. Her children were only young, five and two, and if they had got caught up in it then he wasn't going to be very happy, neither would she. She would be fuming. Children were innocent; they shouldn't be involved in something like this. 

The house was silent and she broke it. "Amaal? Karim?" she called into the still air.

A door creaked open and out stepped the two children; Amaal being the first to leave the bedroom. "Go to the Master, mama, walk towards the light."

" _No_ ," Nadira whispered. Her knees buckled and Malik did her best to hold her upright. "Not you too."

"The Master commands it, mama, walk the path, come to the light. The Master leads us to the light. Praise the Master. Follow path to the light."

Nadira straightened back up and sniffed. "Oh, my dear children, what has that man done to you?"

The children continued with praising the Master and the light and Malik turned to her. "Altaïr is trying to rid us of this plague; they will not be lost for long. You do not need to worry." For some reason, her children seemed to like him and seeing them like this really didn't sit well with him. They were so lively and full of curiosity for the world, now they were mindless thralls... hopefully temporarily. "Fix your wound and meet us outside. We need to keep the thralls away from Altaïr while he deals with this."

"Malik," she started, unsure, "could you possibly watch them for me? They might not have their own minds but they are still young children. I can't have them wandering around the village alone." Nadira had a point, who knows what would happen if they got out of the house; they'd probably break something.

He nodded his head, "Very well. Just be quick."

"Thank you," she said with a smile. "Take them into their room and make sure they stay there."

Malik nodded his head once again and ushered the droning children into the bedroom. They didn't protest the action nor did they stop talking. At all. If it hadn't pissed him off before, it did now. No one should have to be involved, let alone children! He couldn't imagine what Nadira was going through; her husband, brother, and children had gone mad. The Dai nodded along to the childrens' ramblings, not listening to their monotonous words. He didn't know how long be stood there but a yelp made him turn and rush back into the main part of the house.

There stood Nadira with a scolding knife against her skin, to seal the wound together and prevent infection; just what she did with his arm only on a smaller scale. She had done this to many Assassins in the past yet doing on herself was probably something she never really thought about. Cursing under her breath, to which Malik's eyes widened, she cleaned her wound once again before wrapping up her stomach with a clean fabric belt. Nadira looked up, "Aren't you meant to be watching my children?"

"They can't go far; if they do, I'll be surprised."

"As would I," she tightened the belt and stood up straight with a wince. The bandage was tight enough and would hold during her movements. "It's shocking to think everything we know about Al Mualim is a lie." Malik nodded in agreement. He's been playing them from the beginning and no one had any idea. "Perhaps he did have good intentions for the Brotherhood once but I doubt it. He only wants the Holy Land for himself, and he doesn't care who he hurts to get it."

" _Malik_!" Saad cried, shoving the front door open in a hurry. They pivoted instantly. "Assassins are heading for the fortress!"

"Let us make sure they don't reach it," he said, reaching for his sword. Nadira hurried over to the mantel and grabbed the old sword that rest against it. Recognising it to be her father's, Malik wondered why she had it and not her brother, but he quickly decided it wasn't worth it to wonder. The three ran out of the house.

Anas, Dirar and Fadil rushed ahead of the Assassins heading for the fortress while Saad, Malik and Nadira flanked from behind. They engaged the Assassins in combat and kept the effort non-lethal, no matter how much the others wanted to kill them. Instead of the small grouping they usually encountered, this one was much larger and contained several familiar faces; Abbas Sofian, Fahd El Fehmi, Swami, and Husam Al-Amin, Nadira's brother, who sported a bruise to the right temple and a bloodied nose that was probably her doing. The brother charged at her and the rest went at each other.

Almost as soon as the fight started, it ended.

A vibrant golden light burst from their heads. 

The six jumped back in shock and watched the light dance above their heads before disappearing into the air. Nadira looked at Malik. "Altaïr has succeeded in ridding this plague?" The attacking Assassins stumbled over their feet and Husam fell into his sister.

"Nadira?" he asked confused. "What happened?"

"I don't know..." she said, her gaze shifting between the others. "Do you still desire to send me to the light?"

"What are you talking ab- _Oh_!" He put his hands on her shoulders and stood up straight. "I hurt you, didn't I?"

She shushed him. "You do not need to worry."

Malik looked at Abbas and the others affected. "How do you all feel?" They said nothing, changing silent glances, many questions going through their heads.

A loud gasp left Nadira's mouth. "The children!" and she sprinted back into her house.

"It seems you are no longer being manipulated by Al Mualim."

"Al Mualim?" Abbas repeated, sounding a little bitter. "What does he have to do with this? What is wrong with you?"

"The children are no longer affected!" Nadira exclaimed, exiting the house. "Perhaps is is the same everywhere!"

"It could be. Let us go and see for ourselves."

Weapons holstered, they rushed back up the valley to the fortress where more strange gold light was expelled from the minds of the controlled. They hurried past the confused villagers and Assassins and entered the castle. Atop the stairs, the same gold light, looking eerily like early morning sunrays, streamed in through the windows and the wide open door. They cautiously moved forward and walked up the stairs.

A huge, glowing, golden sphere levitated above the ground and it seemingly came from the glowing sphere that lay beneath it. Malik and Nadira slowly stepped forward in awe, staring at the strange image. On it was a map of lands Malik recognised from his own maps he's spent any years copying but... it couldn't be right because the world was flat, not a sphere. Then again most things he knew in his life turned out to be lies. Was the world being flat a lie? Possibly. He made a mental note of all the masses and oceans in the hopes of coping them onto paper for a more accurate map of the world. He glanced at Nadira. She couldn't take her eyes off the floating image. They meticulously scanned the ball in wonder. But they also housed concern. 

If it was powerful enough to enthral a whole village and its Assassins, was it safe enough to be kept with them? What other dangers did it possess? Malik looked at Altaïr. He stared deeply into the rotating sphere and the small artefact on the ground. 

If it could bend people's minds then it could send a man to madness. Altaïr had to be careful if he decided to use it. This golden sphere wasn't to be messed with.

**Author's Note:**

> Its been a while but Valhalla has me shock, pals.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed, if not, well, I'm sorry, I hope you find something else you like! Thanks for reading though!


End file.
